My hosts are great. Marco, the friend of Gabriella's daughters, is studying for exams, but he's been so helpful and hospitable. He speaks English, but not to me, because he knows I want to improve my Italian. His patience seems infinite. His brother, Francesco, took me out for a few beers at Milanese hot spots last night, and I met a few of his friends. He's trying to improve his English, although it's already quite good, so we've exchanged a lot of vocab and expressions. I taught him "jackass," but I forget the Italian equivalent. And their parents are awesome. Il signor Penza made a fantastic dinner last night--first a pasta with gamberetti (shrimp), vongole (clams), and cozze (mussels), then mozzarella di bufala (buffalo mozzarella) with tomatoes and basil. And he and la signora Penza talked a lot. She insisted on doing my laundry. And again, they seem to have infinite patience.
I walked around Milan for hours yesterday. I got a free map at tourist information, I looked around some bookstores, I got an incredible gelato with actual pieces of mango and coconut in it, and an old Italian man stopped me and asked me if I were Milanese. Magari. No, but I'd like to be. I ordered a marocchino (literally: little Moroccan), which is a drink with espresso, steamed milk, and powdered chocolate, at a bar called Princi that Gabriella recommended me. I explored a neighborhood called la Brera which was very charming, and I gazed at the gargoyles on the Duomo. I read a bit of Catch 22 in the piazza, because sometimes I really just need some English. And later Francesco took me to le colonne (the columns) of San Lorenzo and Corso Como, where the bar we went to was playing "Papa Don't Preach."
Today I explored some new areas. I successfully navigated the metro, which always makes me feel good. I bought the July/August issue of the Italian L'Uomo Vogue (Men's Vogue) because Beyonce is on the cover and I figure I can read a magazine on a train to practice some Italian more easily than buying a book. And I bought a camera. It was more expensive than I would have liked, but I wasn't happy not being able to take good pictures of some stuff. Anyone can Google the Duomo di Milan, but as strange as it may sound, I love taking pictures of interesting billboards, signs, cafes... Tomorrow I have to revisit a lot of places now that I can take some nice pictures.
Tonight I went to a barbecue with Marco and about a dozen of his friends. They were all very nice. I had trouble understanding them at times (12 Milanesi shouting at each other after a few glasses of wine? Please.) But after MY few glasses of wine, I felt more comfortable and think I spoke a lot better. Or maybe not. Who knows. But then they all got crazy and sprayed each other with the hose and threw buckets of water and, once, a glass of wine that I had the misfortune to be partially in the way of. But, all things considered, it was fun. Only in Italy.
Now I'm going to bed. Tomorrow is my last full day in Milan, and I want to wake up a bit earlier and get to the city. And then Thursday it's onwards, to Venezia. I feel like I'm living a crazy life right now.
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